Kicks, Tricks, and Racing
by DeathbyInvicta
Summary: A series of oneshots centering around the characters of Cars. Spans from Doc's racing days to years in the future! Humanized!
1. Daytona 500

**A/N Hello! This fic will be posted as a series of oneshots, not necessarily in any order. They'll span all time frames and several AU's. I was inspired to writing these oneshots by the wonderful NurfHurdur. If you haven't read Life's Highway, you MUST. Anyways, this first story is in line with the canon and takes place in 2007, the first race after the tie breaker. Enjoy!**

 **In case you thought I did, I don't own Cars.**

Going to the races was something Sally hadn't done since she was a child. Her father had taken her once- _without telling her mother-_ and it had been a blast. But since then, she hadn't been again, and honestly couldn't say she was much aware of the sport since then. Sure, she knew who the King was, and she had a vague knowledge of who Lightning was when he crashed into town, but she'd never been an active fan before.

That had changed this year. It was the start of the 2007 season, and she found herself in Florida with her boyfriend in the pit area of the track. There seemed to be two groups of girlfriends and wives around the track. One group was very elitist and snobby, preferring to sit up in the sponsor boxes and drink fancy champagne than to actually pay attention to the race or to their significant others. The other group was more her speed- friendly and sociable, hanging out more often on Pit Row and kissing their husbands good luck before the race.

Lynda Weathers was chief among the second group, despite Strip's retirement. Sally had been utterly lost upon arriving at the track- Doc and Lightning had gone off to look at _something_ on the car and she had been left at Lightning's trailer with nothing to do but look around cluelessly. Luckily for Sally, Lynda had came along and, seeing how lost the younger looked, decided to show her around the track. Lynda made sure she knew where everything was- the infield first aid tent, snack bar, the clean restrooms that only the officials knew about- and introduced her to the rest of the Weathers family.

Sally thought that The King might be a bit aloof (and he had a right to be, with as much talent as he had!) but he was so friendly to her that Sally could imagine him fitting right in in Radiator Springs. The King had an easy confidence about him that put everyone around him at ease.

Cal Weathers was just as friendly, though not quite as confident, as his uncle. Cal's wife Nicole was energetic to the point of being hyper, and Sally found herself swept away by the little brunette's enthusiasm.

Lynda also took her over to the Dinaco tent. By now the racers were qualifying, but everyone seemed more focussed in getting set up for the main event the next day. Lynda introduced her to Tex Dinoco himself. Tex was the picture of a Southern gentleman. If Sally had met him on the street, she'd have never known that the man was a billionaire.

Far too quickly, the day was over, and she was heading back to the hotel with Lightning. She hadn't had such a warm reception since she'd arrived in Radiator Springs.

She told Lightning all about the events of her day. Lightning told her that he had qualified on the pole (she'd been studying up on racer lingo and was happy she didn't need to ask what it meant). Not too long after dinner, Doc came by and ordered Lightning to bed.

"But Doc!" Lightning protested. "It's an afternoon race! Besides, I'm not even tired yet."

Doc raised an eyebrow, then took out his wallet. He laid a fifty dollar bill out on the table. "Kid, if I turn these lights and the TV off and you aren't asleep in 20 minutes, you can keep that.

"Haha! Be prepared to lose big time old man! I could stay awake all night!" Lightning leapt up, confident in himself. Sally giggled to herself as Lightning raced around to get ready for bed.

Doc rolled his eyes. To Sally, he quipped "Perhaps I should bribe him on the racetrack too."

She laughed. "But aren't you bribing him to stay awake?"

Doc chuckled. "As long as he gets in that bed with the lights off, his Circadian rhythm will take over from there. I think the kid's forgotten that he was up at 4."

Sure enough, Doc and Sally waited for barely 10 minutes in the dark before Lightning was snoring softly, sprawled out in his bed.

"Impressive." Sally whispered to Doc.

"Call it a doctor's intuition." Doc responded as he gathered up his fifty and put it back in his wallet. "Goodnight Sally."

"Night Doc." Sally replied before settling in with her book.

They headed back out to the racetrack the next day right after lunch. Sally once again found herself a little lost in the massive pit area. Today it was much worse, since everyone was hustling about to get ready for the big race.

Sally spotted Nicole Weathers over by Cal's pit spot. She was making up her mind whether or not to go say hi when the brunette spotted her.

Nicole bounded over and began speaking rapidly in her cheery, squeaky voice. "Hi! Your name is Sally, right? Oh yes of course it is, I remember it. I'm very good with names you see. You're Lightning's girlfriend, huh? Must be exciting for him- the first race of his life he has his sweetheart watching! And it's going to be so much fun for you too! It's a lot of fun watching the boys race- well sometimes it's a little boring, but there's always _something_ to do or see! So tell me, where are you planning on watching the race from?"

It took Sally's brain a moment to catch up with the dialogue and realize that she'd been asked a question. "Oh, I haven't really given it much thought."

Nicole started off again, bouncing a little on her toes as she spoke. Sally tried to listen, she really did, but the speed of Nicole's speech quickly left her in the dust.

Thankfully, Lynda showed up in time to save her from Nicole. Lynda sent Nicole off to find Cal and walked back towards Pit Row with Sally.

"So dear, where are you going to sit this race? You're welcome to come sit in the Dinoco pits with me and Strip. Don't tell Nicole though. We asked her to go sit up in the sponsor box for the race. Don't get the wrong idea, we adore that girl. Strip just thought that Cal might need an attentive crew chief during his first race, and Nicole does make concentration a bit difficult." Lynda told her.

Sally giggled at Lynda's accurate assessment of Nicole. "I didn't know we could sit in the pit boxes. I thought only crew was allowed in there."

"Well dear, as long as you don't decide to randomly hop over the wall with the crew, it's absolutely fine. You're such a nice girl, Strip won't mind if you want to come sit with us."

Sally was taken aback once again by the Weathers' kindness. "Thank you very much, Lynda, but I think I had better sit in Lightning's pits, at least for my first race. Wouldn't want him to think that I suddenly have eyes for Cal."

Both women laughed. "Well if you're absolutely sure, at least let me walk you back over."

They chatted as they walked back to the pit area. Lynda revealed that Strip was still recovering from his injuries, but once he was feeling better they intended to take a road trip out to Radiator Springs.

"Oh, how wonderful! Let me know when you'll be coming out and I save you a suite at the Wheel Well. Lightning would be thrilled to show you around."

They exchanged numbers and promised to stay in touch about the trip. Sally wandered back over to Lightning's pit area. Everything had been unloaded and was being checked over one last time. Lightning was nowhere to be found, most likely in his trailer suiting up. Sally wandered up to Luigi and Guido and watched as they organized the tires.

"Guido! Face-a the rack that-a way! Much better." Luigi ordered the smaller Italian man. Guido grumbled something back in Italian.

Sally laughed and sat down on the inside wall to watch their eccentric crew hustle about.

"Hello, gorgeous." A voice greets her from behind.

She smiles and turns around. "Hello handsome." She responds to Lightning.

They embrace and kiss. "Are you going to sit with Doc and listen to him yell at me?" Lightning asks.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Sally laughs.

The overhead speakers crackled to life. " _All drivers to their cars, all drivers to their cars."_

"Good luck babe. You're going to kill it." Sally tells Lightning and gives him a quick peck.

Lightning kisses her back, before sprinting over to meet Doc at his car.

Sally smiles and looks around. She sees Lynda sitting in a folding chair next to Strip's crew chief chair. That seemed as good as an idea as any.

Doc jogged back from talking to Lightning. She stopped him as he was climbing to steps to the crew chief stand.

"Doc! Mind if I come sit with you?" She asked.

Doc shrugged. "Can't guarantee how interesting it'll be, but if you want to I don't have an objection."

Sally skittered up the stairs behind him. She hadn't brought a chair, but she sat on her cooler, which worked well enough. The cars began taking their warm up laps, and she heard Doc begin talking to Lightning. She smiled. The season was starting, and for the first time she actually cared about the points standings.

 **Am I the only one who thinks that Lynda Weathers** **and Sally would be great friends? Just me? Okay.**

 **Read! Review! Turn right to go left!**


	2. Cleaning out the Garage

**Hello folks! I'm back with another chapter! This one is set before the opening of the racing museum, probably somewhere early 2017. Additionally, thank you very much to my reviewers and followers!**

 **I don't own Cars. Enjoy!**

Organization was key to running a medical facility- it wouldn't due for a patient to suffer because their physician couldn't find his tools. As such, Doc's clinic was always in perfect order. Having a single stethoscope out of place was cause for great anxiety in the old racer.

His garage, however, was not held to these clinical standards.

The mess had almost become a crutch for him over the years- the messiness showed that his old life was disorganized and unfavorable, and his clinics order showed that the clinic was where he belonged. However, he knew it wasn't true. The garage was messy because he didn't have the mental strength to clean it and dredge up all those memories.

It was only with great reluctance that Doc agreed to finally clean the dimly lit space. Part of his agreement had only been motivated but his desire to _shut the kid up._ During the construction of the racing museum, Lightning had been prattling nonstop about the entire wing dedicated to the origins of the sport, and more specifically in The Fabulous Hudson Hornet's role in those origins. Lightning had badgered him for weeks to look in the garage for anything he might be willing to donate to the museum.

Doc had balked at the idea of having a wing dedicated to him. In Doc's mind, he really wasn't that remarkable. Three piston cups paled in comparison to The King's nine, and in Doc's opinion his racing hadn't been all that impressive.

Everyone had disagreed with him on that last point- vividly and _loudly._ No better way to add some sting to compliments like yelling them and ending them with "you old fool!"

After kicking the can down the road as far as he could, it was finally time to clean out the garage.

He started by taking down some of his framed newspapers. He paused as he came to the one of his chuckled as he remembered his words to the rookie not even a year ago.

" _I keep that, to remind me never to go back._ _I just never expected that that world would...would find me here."_

Doc shook his head fondly and smiled. So much for that reminder. He was so far back into the sport he didn't think he could get out again if he wanted to.

He spent some time rooting around for his box of old newspapers. He finally found it shoved under an old desk in the far corner of his garage. He grunted and heaved it out in to the open area.

His hands left prints in the thick layer of dust coating the box. He hadn't opened it since arriving in Radiator Springs. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd even brought it with him from Georgia, but something had compelled him to keep them all these years. Doc heaved the box into his trunk without bothering to open it. Let the rookie sort out what was interesting and what wasn't.

He next went hunting for his old box of film reels. It was found similarly coated in dust stacked on a set of blown tires. Doc considered the box. It had been years upon years since he'd watched any of these. He wasn't even sure if they still played. Making a snap decision, he hauled the box into his arms and headed for his study.

The projector was in need of a good cleaning but still operational. Once he got that set up, he considered the box of films again. It was filled with old memories, ones he hadn't disturbed in fifty years. He wasn't sure he was ready to rouse them.

He picked up the first film and read the reel. _Thomasville 1952._

He prepared the film in the projector and paused. Heaving a great sigh, he hit play.

 _And there he goes, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet is off like a shot! He's taking the field by storm, folks, nothing can stop him now! I predict another victory for our favorite blue hudson today, race fans!_

Doc watched the film fondly. After all those years, he'd finally come to terms with what had happened between him and the sport the first time around. Leaving behind the years of bitterness and anger had been a slow, difficult process. While he'd never admit to it out loud, coaching the kid had facilitated a lot of that acceptance

He flicked the projector off and rewound the film. Replacing it in it's reel, he set it on the desk. The next twenty minutes were spent rummaging through his box of films, taking out the ones that were either boring or that he didn't want to part with. He removed the one of his crash- the museum didn't need to show _that-_ and the ones from some of his more personally memorable races.

He replaced the ones he planned to donate back in the box and lugged it to his trunk. He turned back to his garage and looked around. He'd already taken his trophies over to the museum. Lightning had been surprised that he was willing to donate them. Doc had reasoned that the museum would get more use out of them than he had in the last fifty years. They didn't do anyone any good holding his tools in his garage, slowly rotting to the ground.

Doc groaned and stretched, the pops and grinding in his back a constant reminder that he was getting frickin' old. What else would people like to look at in a racing museum?

He remembered having some old signs and posters somewhere and set about rummaging through his things again. He ended up back by the old desk in the corner. Something caught his eye- an envelope, filled with the reason that he'd stuffed the desk away in the first place.

He sighed. Might as well rip the band-aid off all at once.

Sitting on a short stack of tires, he unceremoniously dumped the envelope onto the dusty desk. Dozens of unfinished letters spilled out. Every letter he'd started to write but never got the courage to send back home. Most were to Smokey, but Louise, River, and Moon each had a share of the letters on his desk. He picked up a random one, the page yellowed with age. It looked to be one of the oldest of those in the folder. He didn't recognize the return address, so he must have written it when he was still on the road, before stopping in Radiator Springs. In the messy scrawl of his youth, the letter was addressed to Smokey. It was only a few sentences long.

 _Smokey,_

 _I'm sorry for leaving the way I did, and I know you're probably mad. I can't explain in a letter why I had to leave, had to get out of that town, but I hope I get the chance to tell you in person one day. I'm in Illinois right now, and you wouldn't believe how much corn there is in this damned state._

He'd never written more than that. Doc chuckled as he thought back to his time on the road. Aside from Chicago, all he could remember of Illinois was corn and occasionally wheat.

A lot of the letters were similar to that one. He'd never sent a single one. They'd piled up in this folder for years. He'd moved the desk out here and put the folder on it so the guilt they brought wouldn't haunt him quite so much. He sighed. Recently, he'd been writing a lot of unsent letters again. With the public rediscovery and all, he figured he owed it to Smokey at least to make contact.

Finding paper and a pen was the easy part. He'd retreated back to the desk in the corner. After all these years, he felt that he deserved to be cramped and uncomfortable while writing this letter. Scooting his stack of tires closer to the desk, he considered the page in front of him. He didn't even know how to start. How does one break a fifty year silence?

He finally settled for just writing Smokey's name. Best to start simple.

He sat for a good ten minutes considering what to write next. He was starting to regret this, but Smokey deserved _something._ He had to write _something._ At long last, he decided an old fashioned dose of Southern honesty may just be the best way to go.

 _Smokey,_

 _I've spent the last fifteen minutes sitting in the corner of my garage trying to think of a good way to start this thing. I've come to the conclusion that there is no good way to start a letter after fifty years._

 _I know this don't mean jack to you, but I am sorry for how I left. You have no idea how many times I wanted to call, how many letters I wrote but never had the courage to send. At the beginning, some foolish anger kept me from sending them. Over the years, as the anger evaporated, fear set in. Fear that you'd be angry, fear you wouldn't be angry, fear that you'd never want to speak to me again. You have every right to feel that way, and I know that I was most likely the cause of those feelings. Avoidance just became easier than facing that fear._

Doc huffed and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. This was mentally exhausting. There were a thousand places he'd rather be right now and a thousand other things he'd rather be doing. Getting a cavity filled, waiting in line at the DMV, hell he'd rather volunteer to be a crash test dummy than to be sitting here writing this torturous letter. He took a few more minutes to recompose himself before he started writing again.

 _By now, I'm sure that you've seen the news, or somebody has shown it to you. Just my luck I wind up getting stuck with probably the only kid that could drag me back into the sport. You'd be amazed at how much he acts like I did at his age- headstrong, cocky, and reckless. I just signed a contract to be his crew chief, and he's in the process of building himself a home here, so it looks like I'm stuck with him for the foreseeable future. You'll be happy to know that I now understand all the hell I put you through. I can't believe that I thought racing was hard! Kid's got a lot of talent though. Lots of flaws in his technique, but he has a certain instinct that you have to give him credit for. Training only makes so much of a difference, at some point you have to have a feel for the track._

 _It's the offseason now. I'll be spending a lot of time at home. I hope the garage is doing well. Tell Louise, River, and Moon that I say sorry and hello. I plan on writing them soon too, but this letter alone has made me feel fifty years older._

 _Your brother,_

 _Jesse Hudson_

Doc sighed and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He groaned for the umpteeth time that day and fished around for a stamp. Best to mail this thing before he lost his nerve and it ended up with all the others.

He walked into town slowly, not in any hurry to get to the mailbox. He stopped at Flo's and talked to Lightning and Sally for a while. He told Lightning he was almost done looking for museum stuff. He then listened to Lightning fanboy for ten minutes straight about all the things that were going to be in the museum. Doc was pretty impressed- Lightning had gotten in touch with The King, Mario Andretti, and a truckload of other racers to encourage museum donations.

At long last, Doc ran out of legitimate reasons to drag his feet (and had even went through a few illegitimate ones). He approached the mailbox slowly and cautiously, almost as if it would bite him.

Before he could lose his nerve, he opened the door and dropped the letter in. He stared at the mailbox for a few minutes afterwards. No turning back now.

In the following hours, he found himself confronted with the aching temptation to go retrieve the letter, tear it up and forget the whole thing. He wasn't sure whether it was his guilt over not contacting Smokey before this or his knowledge that tampering with mail is a federal crime that stopped him from doing it.

The mailman came at five that night. Doc watched from his window as the man took the mail away, into his truck. Now there was really no turning back.

 **I've seen the idea of Smokey being Doc's brother around the site a lot and I absolutely love it. Additionally, I borrowed Doc's first name from NurfHurdur, so credits to them. I've often seen Doc referred to as Paul, but I think Jesse suits him perfectly.**

 **Read! Review! Be a fluffy cloud!**


	3. The Snow Day

**Just a short chapter this time around! No real plot here, just some antics in the snow. Enjoy!**

"Mater, I don't know about this." Lightning mumbled worriedly. He seemed to say those words pretty often around his best friend.

"Aw, don't worry bout a thing buddy! This is gonna be great!" Mater shouted back to his friend.

"MATER I'M STARTING TO NOT BELIEVE YOU!" Lightning yelled as they missed a tree by mere inches. "MATER PLEASE TELL ME THIS THING HAS BRAKES!"

"Ain't no brakes in sledding buddy!" Mater yelled.

The idea that had landed Lightning in this situation was to spend a day up north, sledding in the snow. Lightning had planned on buying a nice, roomy sled at the shop before they headed out to the mountain. But Mater had insisted he had a better idea. No, instead of the nice, comfy, store bought toboggan McQueen had set his sights on, Mater had tied a rope to the front of a trash can lid and waxed the bottom till it shone. Mater had said that the wax would make the sled faster.

Lightning regretted saying okay.

Mater had insisted on steering, but very soon into the ride they'd discovered that their sled did _not_ steer with any reliability. Their trip downhill so far had been mostly based on luck and a lot of yelling.

Lightning bravely opened his eyes once more. He wished he'd brought goggles, as the wind was whipping by so fast his eyes were watering. They seemed to be approaching a clearing. LIghtning was relieved, before he realized that Doc, Ramone, Sheriff, Luigi, and Guido were hanging out in the clearing.

The Radiator Springs group had been on their way up the hill when they heard screaming. "Yee-haw! Look out down beeeelow!" Mater called as the trashcan lid came barreling towards them.

"Lightning shouted something very different. "GET ME OFF THIS DEATH SAUCER!" He screamed as the sled whooshed towards the group.

Doc blinked exactly twice. "Do those two ever think of good ideas?" He asked rhetorically.

Right as the duo was going by the Radiator Springs townsfolk, the makeshift sled found a buried log and got airbourne. It sent it's riders flying into the sky- Mater whooping for joy, McQueen screaming curses in abject terror- before all three landed in a huge snowbank.

Doc knew that he should probably be angry with the rookie for doing something so reckless and just plain _dumb,_ but he was currently laughing to hard to think straight, let alone impart lessons in personal responsibility. The rookie had landed face first in the snow, and his legs kicked feebly as he tried to push himself out.

Mater hopped up, still whooping. "Yeee-whooo! It don't get much better than that!"

Lightning was still having no luck in righting himself. He'd managed to flip over and clear some of the snow away, but his bulky clothes prevented him from getting off his back.

"A little help?" Lightning's voice was muffled by his scarf.

Doc and Ramone, both still howling with laughter, finally came to the rookie's aid. "I feel like a rolly poley." Lightning groused as the other two heaved him out of his hole.

"So, enjoying the snow?" Doc teased. Lightning harrumphed in response.

Mater, meanwhile, had found the trash can lid and came jogging back up to McQueen. "Hey buddy! Wanna go again?"

"No thank you. One ride on a death trap is enough for one day."

Mater looked a little disappointed, but shrugged. "More room for me then!"

"Hey Stickers!" Sally called, walking up the hill towards them with Flo. Lightning silently thanked the heavens that she hadn't seen him crash. "Want to go on a sled ride with me?" She asked once she got closer, indicating her nice, store bought toboggan.

"Only if you didn't wax the bottom." Lightning groused.

Doc snorted. "I can't believe you kids are still doing that. We did that back in _my_ day."

At Lightning and Sally's incredulous stares, Doc shrugged. "What? I had a childhood too you know!"

"Huh. Somehow in my mind you just appeared at age 40 with crankiness to rival an 80 year old." Lightning mused.

"Shut up rookie. I could have left you in the snow." Doc grumbled and started walking towards the top of the hill again with Sheriff.

"C'mon, Stickers." Sally prodded. Grinning, Lightning followed her up the hill.

About halfway up, Mater whooshed by again, yelling like he'd just won the lottery. Lightning shook his head fondly. "I don't know where he gets all that energy. He didn't even have any coffee this morning!"

Sally laughed. "He's been that way as long as I've known him. If only we could hook him up to a power grid!"

Lightning laughed. They travelled a few more minutes in silence, the young couple lagging behind the doctor and the lawman. Suddenly, Lightnings face lit up like a Christmas light.

"Oh no. That's your 'I have an idea I haven't thought through' face." Sally remarked. Lightning shushed her.

Sally watched, unamused, as her boyfriend stooped and picked up a large handful of snow.

She watched as he carefully formed a sphere.

"And what do you plan to do with that?" She asked disapprovingly. He didn't respond, only flashed her a Cheshire Cat style grin. "I hope your aim is good and that your a fast runner." She groused.

Lightning snuck up a little bit closer to Doc and Sheriff and carefully took aim. He'd played baseball in his youth and tried to remember all of the throwing mechanics. He wound up, aimed, and threw with deadly accuracy.

Doc and Sheriff were peacefully walking, enjoying the beautiful snowy forest. That is, they had been peacefully walking until a snowball collided will the back of Doc's head. It splattered on impact, snow falling beneath the edge of his jacket and soaking his shirt beneath. He froze, tensing up as the cold seeped down his back.

"What the-" The Sheriff began, feeling the splatter of the snowball. Doc whipped around to find the rookie laughing his behind off. Sally stood behind him, shaking her head. Doc growled, then was struck with an idea. Two could play at that game.

Lightning didn't see Doc bend down. He did, however, see the snowball coming towards him. With the reaction times of a drag racer, Lightning leapt out of the way, and a surprised Sally took the snow right in the face.

Sheriff exhaled a loud "Ha!" and began guffawing.

"Whoops." Doc commented as Sally stood there and blinked.

"Now that wasn't very gentlemanly." Sheriff wheezed to Lightning, who was now sitting in the snow after diving out of the way.

Sally glared at Lightning, who grinned apologetically. She casually bent over to pick up some snow.

"Uh oh!" Lightning exclaimed, taking off towards the top of the hill. Doc saw him trip several times in the snow.

Doc turned back to Sally. "Team up against the kid?" He asked.

She had already started sprinting after Lightning, sled forgotten in the snow. "Absolutely."

 **I've only felt real snow once, so this is just what I imagine people would do in the snow.**

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	4. When Legends Collide

**A/n I LIIIIIVE! Sorry for the long wait. The last few months pf high school really ate me up. BUT I SURVIVED! AND I GRADUATE ON THURSDAY! So anyways, here's a celebratory chapter. This is my take on how Strip meeting Doc would have gone down (I know there's the cutscene at the end of Cars 1, but I always saw it differently). The idea of the calm and collected King getting all fanboy over meeting Doc never ceases to amuse me. Anyways,** **onward** **!**

Calm, collected, confident, professional. These words and their synonyms were often used to describe Strip Weathers. However, 'giddy' had never been one of those words before.

Lynda watched, bemused, as Strip all but skipped around their home. He was checking and rechecking all of their luggage, even though she'd already done so several times.

"Strip, honey, relax. We'll be on the road soon enough." Lynda soothed her husband.

Strip nodded absently. "I just want to make sure we have everything."

"What we don't have we can buy. Why are you so nervous about this trip anyways?"

Strip scoffed. "I'm not nervous, dear. Just excited to finally see the town Lightning raves about."

"Hmm." Lynda hummed. "And your excitement isn't at all inspired by the chance to meet your hero?"

Strip blushed faintly. "Well that may have a little something to do with it too."

Lynda smiled and kissed his cheek. "We'll be on the road soon you old daddy-rabbit."

Strip was about to respond, but was interrupted by his nephew running down the stairs. "Aunt Lynda, do you know where I put my-"

His sentence cut off abruptly when he missed a step, tripped over his own feet, and tumbled down the last seven steps.

"Oh my!" Lynda exclaimed.

Strip rolled his eyes. "Are you sure I'm related to him?"

Cal bounced off the floor almost immediately, in too much of a rush to care about the health of his forehead. "Aunt Lynda, do you know where I put my sunglasses? I can't find them."

"They're on the table sweetie. Please be more careful." Lynda worried, as Cal sprinted into the kitchen to get his sunglasses.

"He is _not_ driving." Strip told his wife as soon as Cal was out of earshot.

The desert was large, and remained mostly unchanged for their entire drive. Cal was sure to point this out numerous times in ascending volume.

Finally, they reached a truck stop. Strip was seriously considering strangling his nephew by this point. In order to avoid that, Lynda went to the merchandise section of the truck stop and bought a DVD player and several movies. At first Strip protested at the cost, but Lynda silenced him with a huff.

"You just retired as one of the biggest names on this continent. You can afford a DVD player Scrooge."

The rest of the drive was thankfully much quieter. Lynda drove for a while so Strip could look over some of the books he'd brought. Before they'd left he'd ordered half a library's worth of books on racing legends and the beginnings of the sport. He'd already been fairly knowledgeable about the subject, but he'd wanted something to do with all the time off he'd had while recovering. Of the assortment, he'd already finished nearly half.

He must have nodded off for a while, because he woke up with Lynda shaking him gently.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked blearily.

"You missed your pain medication by an hour. Other than that, nothing of importance. We're going to be coming around the mountains soon, so I thought you may want to see that.

Strip took his medication gratefully. He'd missed a dose completely one time and that was _not_ an experience he ever wished to repeat.

Rousing Cal had been a bit harder. Strip finally just shook his nephew until he blearily blinked his eyes open.

"Mrh we thermph yet?" Cal asked thickly, still half asleep.

"No, but we're close. Now wake up, we're cresting the mountains.

The view was spectacular. Cal managed to wake himself up enough to peer out the front windshield and appreciate the view with his aunt and uncle.

"I see it! I see Radiator Springs!" Cal chirped. "I'll let Lightning know we're almost there."

Strip sat forward in his seat excitedly. "Wow! It's absolutely tiny! But look at that architecture!"

They pulled slowly into town, a little unsure of themselves. "Lightning says to meet him at the… 'Cozy Cone.'" What a goofy name for a motel." Cal provided from the backseat.

"Thank you Cal, but I have no idea where that is." Lynda looked around, lost.

"Hey look, it's McQueen's girlfriend. Let's ask her where it is." Strip pointed to the blonde sitting at Flo's.

Sally, incidentally, recognized the Weather's Cadillac and was already walking over to them as Lynda rolled down her window.

"Excuse me dear. Lightning told us to meet him at some place called the 'Cozy Cone.' Do you happen to know where that is?" Lynda asked.

Sally chuckled. "I might have an idea. Come on, let's get you set up in your rooms."

Strip was impressed. Lightning had the foresight to have Sally reserve two cones, one for Strip and Lynda and one for Cal. The Cozy Cone had become unbelievably popular, and he was grateful for the rooms. Staying right on the edge of town was preferable to staying on the top of the mountain at the Wheel Well, even if those rooms were larger.

"So, how do you like it? Sally's been putting in a _ton_ of upgrades recently." Lightning chirped from the door.

"Oh it's lovely!" Lynda gushed. "I love how you kept the quaint, small town-atmosphere."

Strip rolled his eyes and zoned out while Sally and Lynda talked about the decorations. Women cared about things like atmosphere and interior design. He liked the room because it had a wide bed and a new microwave, not because of the curtains.

He left the ladies to their girl-talk and joined Lightning outside. "Mighty pretty view coming over those mountains."

Lightning nodded so enthusiastically it looked like his head might fall off. "It's gorgeous up there, isn't it!? Before you leave we need to take you up to Wheel Well at dusk. The sunsets are _amazing."_

Strip chuckled. "I'll put it on the list." He took a good look down mainstreet. There was a fair number of tourists out and about, but many had retreated indoors to escape the punishing sun.

"Mrs. Weathers told me you're looking forward to meeting Doc."

Before Strip could respond, Cal bounded up behind the two and three an arm around each of their shoulders. "Boy, isn't _that_ an understatement! He's been talking about this trip for a month straight!"

"I have not." Strip snapped. It was half-hearted, as even he knew what his nephew was saying held a lot of truth.

Lightning chuckled. "I promise you can both meet him at dinner tonight. Flo agreed to close up a little early tonight so you could meet the town with no fans around." Lightning checked his watch. "In the meantime, how would you like a guided tour?

Cal and Strip both eagerly agreed. Lightning led the way down the main road of the town. He pointed out Filmore's hut, the tire shop, and the rest of the resident's stores. By the time they had finished touring and swapping stories, the sun had nearly gone down.

Lightning returned them to the Cozy Cone and excused himself to go find Sally. Strip and Cal went back to their respective cones for an hour until it was time to meet for dinner.

Lynda laughed quietly to herself. Strip was getting giddy again. He was pacing around their room, repeatedly smoothing his shirt down. "Nervous, dear?" She asked sweetly.

He scoffed. "Honey, The King doesn't get nervous."

Lynda smiled and laughed again. "Of course you old daddy-rabbit. Try not to look too star-struck in front of Doctor Hudson, alright?"

Strip waved off her teasing in favor of checking the time and smoothing his shirt again. Less than a minute later, someone knocked on her door.

Strip leapt over to it to see Lightning and Sally. Lynda quickly grabbed her purse and joined the others on the front porch. Cal ran over from his own cone to join them. The group chatted and laughed as they slowly walked to Flo's.

As promised, the diner was cleared of any customers. Some tables had been rearranged to make one massive table that would fit all of the residents, plus their guests. Lizzie was sitting next to Sarge and Fillmore, who were arguing as usual. Every once in a awhile, Lizzie would cut in with an out-of-place remark. Guido and Luigi sat next to her, having a fast-paced conversation in Italian. Red sat quietly next to them, saving seats for Ramone and Flo, who were in the back getting food ready for all the people.

"BUDDY!" Someone called out. Before Strip could react, an enthusiastic man in overalls was bounding up to them.

Lightning chuckled. "Mater! Glad you could make it!"

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't have missed this for all the motor oil in the world!" Mater insisted. He then seemed to notice Strip and the others. "You must be Mr and Mrs The King!"

Lynda chuckled, as did Lightning and Sally. "Mater, this is Strip, Lynda, and Cal Weathers. Guys, this is my best friend Mater."

Hand shakes went on all around. Mater was so excited he shook their hands with about twice as much force as was necessary.

"Ouch." Cal commented after Mater released his hand, flexing his now sore fingers. Mater insisted on taking their jackets from them and hanging them on some spare chairs. After that, he headed to the kitchen to help Flo with the last touches on food.

Lightning sat down with an empty seat on his left, Strip and Cal on his right. Sally and Lynda sat across the table from them.

As Lightning was introducing everyone, Sheriff walked in. After greeting everyone, he said "Doc should be here in a minute or two. He was just closing up when I walked by."

Strip gave a nonchalant response, but internally he was doing cartwheels. He busied himself by making small talk with Lightning and Sheriff for a few minutes until the door opened again.

Strip cut off in mid-sentence to look up. Lightning did too, and stood to greet his mentor. Doc walked in nonchalantly. He was glad the heat had died down somewhat.

"Doc! Finally!" Lightning piped up. "We've been waiting on you, old man!"

Doc rolled his eyes. "Unlike some of us, I have responsibilities to attend to." He quipped back at Lightning.

Lynda watched bemusedly as Strip tried to keep from bouncing in his seat. The presence of his hero has turned Strip from a veteran racer into a four year old boy again.

"Doc, these are the Weathers, Lynda, Strip, and Cal. Guys, this is Doc Hudson."

"Pleasure to meet you." Lynda said with a smile. Doc smiled back and reached across the table to shake her hand.

"It's really an honor to meet you sir. You have no idea what this means to me." Strip gushed, happy with himself for sounding so articulate. His first thought had just been to start spouting praise and compliments.

Doc smiled and took his hand. "The pleasure is all mine. "No need to call me sir, I'm not _that_ much older than you. I trust you're healing well?"

"Oh yes, very well. The doctor said I only need to wear the brace for another month or so." Strip commented, flicking the brace on his knee.

"Excellent. Lightning said you're going to be doing some coaching as well this season."

"He told you right! Tex wasn't quite ready to let me go yet. He wanted to come with us, but he couldn't get away from the business. He's trying to make it out before we leave."  
Doc was going to respond, but just then Cal cut in. "Hey! Don't I get to introduce myself?"

Strip elbowed his nephew. "Shut up, Cal."

Doc laughed. "See, you're getting the hang of it already!"

Cal and Lightning scowled in unison. Sally and Lynda giggled across the table.

The boys settled into comfortable conversation. Strip and Doc swapped stories about how the racing world had changed over their careers. Lynda smiled as Strip asked Doc questions about the history of the sport, Doc answering them graciously. Strip made a joke at Cal's detriment. Cal pouted while Strip, lightning, and Doc laughed.

Lynda smiled. She was really starting to like this town.

 **There should be some more frequent updates now that it's summer. Stay tuned!**

 **Read! Review! Have good folks behind you and let them do their job right!**


	5. Smokey's Reply

**Hey! It's been a while, hasn't it? Freshmen year of college is eating me alive! Anyways, this chapter is a sequel to Chapter 2, when Doc decided to write Smokey a letter. After long last, the reply! Enjoy!**

The vacuum quit halfway through cleaning the garage.

Doc scowled down at the offending appliance. The years of dirt had been too much for it. He tried to start it again, but it only sputtered and gave a weak puff of dust before it quit again.

"Well that's great." He grumbled. He could ask Mater to fix it, but that would take at least a day, and he _really_ wanted to get this cleaning over with. He'd finally given Lightning enough memorabilia to make a decent museum exhibit, and for the last few days he'd been trying to make the garage presentable again.

He was heading out to borrow someone's vacuum when he noticed the mailman was filling his box. "Morning Dr. Hudson! Got a letter here for ya." The mailman waved the yellow envelope in the air before putting it in the box.

Doc nodded in thanks, trying to appear calm. He waited until the mail truck was entirely out of view before he went to the mailbox to retrieve the letter.

The yellow envelope smelled faintly of gasoline. He scrutinized the handwriting for a moment. His brother's distinctive, cramped scrawl stared back at him. The handwriting may as well have been a time capsule, as it didn't look a bit different than how he remembered it.

 _Jesse Hudson._ The letter said simply. Doc stared for another minute before closing the mailbox, leaving the rest of the junk in there. He wandered into his kitchen, placing the letter in the center of the table. He wearily made himself a cup of coffee, settling into a kitchen chair to stare at the letter. Finally, when his coffee was almost entirely gone, he reached for the letter.

He carefully inserted the letter opener and tore the top open. He stared at the piece of paper inside for a good minute before taking it out. He carefully set the envelope off to the side and unfolded the letter.

 _Jesse,_

 _I let your letter sit around for two days before I opened it. Boy, was I pissed when I saw that envelope. Would you have even bothered with that letter if you hadn't been exposed on the television? I doubt it._

 _A letter isn't the place to have this kind of discussion after 50 years, Jesse. Call me- the number's on the bottom. The phone isn't the proper place for this conversation either, but I suppose it's a start. Mind the time difference when you call._

 _-Smokey_

Doc let out a deep breathe he didn't realize he'd been holding. The bluntness of the letter wasn't surprising- his brother had never been shy about saying what needed to be said. He scrubbed a hand tiredly across his face. He should call soon, before he lost the nerve and ended up burying the letter in the garage. He eyed his empty cup and groaned. Another cup of coffee first.

Two more cups of coffee, and Doc still didn't feel even remotely more awake. He sighed and eyed the clock on the oven. 1:30… which would make it 4:30 back in Georgia. Seemed like as good of a time as any. He pulled out his cell phone and stared at it for a few minutes before reaching for the letter again. He dialed each number slowly, hesitating before pressing the last button. With a shaking hand he held the phone to his ear as it began to ring.

"Smokey's best damn garage in town, Smokey speaking." A gruff voice- his brother's voice- said automatically upon picking up the phone.

Doc froze, suddenly speechless. His brother's voice was gruffer and tireder than he remembered, but it was unmistakable nonetheless.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" His brother's voice prompted again.

"Smokey." Doc barely whispered. He could hear a sharp inhale on the other end of the line. "Smokey, it's Jesse."

"Jesse." Smokey responded and gave a tense chuckle. "You son of a gun. I'd come to terms with the idea of never hearing your voice again, but there it is." Though his words were joking, the tone was accusatory, and Doc reflexively flinched.

"That was never my intention, Smokey." Doc responded. Even to him it sounded like a lame excuse. He could hear his brother exhale harshly.

"Intention or not, you left behind your family and acted like a ghost for fifty years, Hud. But that's not a wound we're gonna fix over the phone. For now, I'm just going to be happy with hearing your voice." Doc sighed. He knew there were wounds there that he may never be able to heal, the brashness of his youth creating permanent scars. He had them too. But his brother was right, such a heavy topic deserved to be dealt with face-to-face. He thought briefly that perhaps that was a way for them to both punt the can down the road a little more, but he pushed it aside. Right now he just wanted to talk to his brother.

"So you're still running that old garage? How's business?" Doc asked.

"It's doing well. I won't be moving to Beverly Hills anytime soon, but I'm comfortable and have got some good savings for retirement. What about you? The news said you're a doctor now?"

"Yeah. I drove around for over a year before finding this little desert town on Route 66. Wound up staying. It so happened the town doctor was starting to think about retirement and set me up to take the position." Doc gave the brief version of how he came to be the doctor.

"That must have been nice and convenient." Smokey summed up. "What about the kid? How did that happen? News said he got lost in Radiator Springs?"

Doc huffed in amusement. "Well, it's a long story really. He did get lost and end up here. He also ended up destroying the main road through town in his panic."

Smokey chuckled. "How'd he manage that?"

Doc laughed too. "Kid ran his car through a fence and somehow got the barbed wire wrapped around the statue and drug the statue through the pavement. It was one of the weirdest freak accidents I've ever seen." Doc paused to chuckle. "I have to admit, I judged the kid too harshly at the start. All I saw was his ego and I didn't really try to look past it until the night he was drug out of here. Because the kid has a whole lot more to him than that ego." Doc finished softly.

Smokey grunted. "Reminds me of another headstrong racer who thought he knew it all." Doc smiled at the rib.

"I just signed a contract to be his crew chief for the coming season. Got any advice?" Doc asked, only half-joking.

"Well, it seemed like you did a pretty good job at that tiebreaker race." Smokey paused. "I suppose the best advice I can give is to just learn how the kid thinks. See, I didn't really have to with you, but the better you know that kid the easier your job. You need to know what he's gonna do before he knows," Smokey finished with a huff.

Doc made a mental note to start observing the kid when he wasn't expecting it. "Thanks Smokey. I'll have to work on that."

Smokey sighed. "Well, it's getting about supper time here and I've had a full days work. "Don't think you're not getting a good what for when I have the energy to give you one."

Doc reflexively flinched. "Wouldn't think that for a second." He paused. "I missed you Smokey."

"And whose fault was that?" The reply, while joking in tone, also had an edge to it. Smokey's tone softened slightly. "Don't go disappearing on me again."

It was the closest to sappy the two brothers would ever get. Even after all the years, they were still able to pick up on the other's unspoken words.

"I'll call you again soon." Doc finished gruffly.

"See that you do." Smokey returned, just as gruff.

His brother ended the phone call so he didn't have to. Doc stared at the phone in his hand for a moment and sighed. Scrubbing a hand tiredly across his face, he suddenly felt old. He tossed the rest of the coffee in the trash and reached for the bottle of Jack Daniels on the top shelf. He needed something stronger than coffee now.

 **This arc may continue for another update or two, I'm not sure yet. We'll see!**

 **Read! Review! Don't let the beach eat you!**


	6. Take Me Back

**Hello again! This chapter is a doozy! It's taken me nearly TWO MONTHS to write! It's a long one. It introduces my OC Darlene, Doc's wife! She won't be in all the stories since these are mostly independent one shots, but I just had to write a story about young doc. Also the chapter title comes from the song _Take me Back to the Night We Met_ by Lord Huron. It was stuck in my head the whole time I was writing this. Give it a listen! Enjoy!**

It was a few weeks into Lightning's second season, and the week of a rare off-weekend. Doc and Lightning were eating lunch in the V8 cafe, a common occurrence after morning practice laps. He'd done well that day, and the conversation was light as they sat in their usual booth and sipped iced tea.

Sheriff came in not to long after they had finished. Lightning waved in greeting. Doc nodded. "Micheal. Care to sit?"

Lightning still forgot what Sheriff's real name was on occasion, as far as he was aware Doc and Flo were the only ones to ever use it. He also forgot Doc's real name was Jesse every now and then. He supposed people probably forgot his name too, seeing as everyone called him Lightning.

Lightning let his thoughts drift around as Doc and Sheriff caught up with each other. He started listening again in time to hear Sheriff ask Doc a question.

"So, have you heard from Ellen lately?"

Lightning furrowed his brows. Doc didn't seem to notice and responded. "Yeah, she called a few days ago. I told her she should come down sometime before the summer heat gets too bad."

"Woah woah woah." Lightning interrupted. Doc and Sheriff both turned to look at him. "Who's Ellen?"

Doc took another sip of tea. "My niece." He ignored Lightning's open mouthed expression and clarified. "Well, technically my niece in-law."

Lightning's jaw was somewhere on the floor by their feet. "YOU'RE-" Doc had slapped a hand across the kid's mouth as he had started to shout. He held it there until the other curious diners turned back to their food.

"You're _married?"_ Lightning whisper-shouted as soon as his mouth was freed.

Doc gave him an incredulous look and held up his left hand. Sure enough, there was a gold band around his ring finger. Lightning couldn't believe he'd never noticed before.

"Wha-... but… where…" Lightning drifted off, not sure what he was trying to ask. Doc silenced him with a hand.

"Yes, I _was_ married. She passed about five years ago." At the look of Lightning's face, Doc rushed to add. "Don't say you're sorry. I probably should have told you a while ago. It never seemed to be a good time. Besides, I've… come to terms with it. It wasn't unexpected." Doc's voice grew quieter as his sentence continued. He shook his head a little. "Don't feel bad. We had a long time together."

"Oh." Lightning responded lamely. He made a vague gesture with his hand. How was one supposed to respond to that? "What was her name?"

Doc pursed his lips and fished his wallet out of his pocket. "Let me find you a picture." He opened it and reached into the back, pulling out an old grainy photo. He handed it to Lightning. Lightning took it in awe, staring at the grainy colors. His first thought was how _youthful_ Doc looked. His hair was a deeper brown without the salt-and-pepper grey it had now, and the lines of his face were absent. Lightning shifted his focus to the woman. A black haired woman was holding Doc's arm in the photo. She was very pretty, smiling shyly at the camera. She was probably a foot shorter than Doc- Lightning guessed her to be around 5'1"- and had beautiful green eyes.

"Her name was Darlene." Doc told him. Lightning handed the photo back to his mentor in awe. Doc started talking as he searched for a different photo. "Ellie is Darlene's brother's daughter, but we wound up having her around a lot. Darlene's brother and his wife didn't get along very well, but they wanted to shield Ellie from that. As a result, I think she spent more time here than she did at her parent's. She even ended up going to schools closer to our house than theirs because she spent so much time with us. Ah, here it is,"

He handed Lightning a much newer photo, probably from only a few years ago. Ellen was about five inches taller than her aunt but had the same green eyes. Her hair was a white-blonde color, held back in a ponytail. She looked very athletic and smiled boldly at the camera.

Lightning handed his crew chief back the photos in awe. How had he not thought to ask if Doc was married? "Is it… is it alright if I ask you about her?" He asked hesitantly.

Doc nodded. "Ask away kiddo."

Sheriff took the chance to excuse himself, leaving the mentor and protege to their conversation.

"How did you two meet?" Lightning asked, leaning forward on his forearms.

Doc smiled fondly. "The short version is we met at medical school. Would you like the long version?" Doc laughed at Lightning's eager nod. "Well then get comfortable kid. It was my junior year, so it must have been '63. I'd legally changed my first name to Jay, since the name Jesse Hudson was still circulating in the occasional magazine. I think the whole thing started in late fall..."

 _Flashback_

Jay had agreed to be a TA for the Anatomy 101 class as a favor to his favorite professor. For the most part it was fairly boring-help grade assignments, help the prof with examples, and hold tutor sessions for students who needed it. He didn't really mind helping out the professor, but he didn't much like dealing with the nervous freshmen. The professor had told him more than once that he scared the students with his sullenness and snappily sarcastic demeanor. He wasn't too worried about what they thought of him- they always left the tutor sessions smarter than when they came in, and that was his only concern.

He checked his schedule for tutoring sessions and frowned. His next appointment was with a girl named Darlene Andrews. He couldn't figure her out. She was doing exceedingly well in the class, but had started coming to tutoring sessions a week ago. She usually didn't have much she needed help with and left before her time was up. She always seemed incredibly nervous too, more nervous than the other students were around him.

He shrugged. Perhaps she just thought he was mean- she wouldn't be the first. He actually had a slight fondness for her- she left early and didn't ask stupid questions.

A timid knock on the door of his tiny office shook him from his reverie. "Come in." He called.

Darlene stepped into the room and greeted him him with a timid hello. He responded with a nod of his head and gestured to the seat across from him. Hurriedly she sat down, faint blush across her cheeks. He didn't think anything of it, instead fishing out her recent exam for them to review.

"So, a 96%. Not bad at all." He told her. She averted her eyes and her face flushed furiously at the praise. Jesse raised his eyebrows slightly.

 _I guess I don't give compliments a lot. That's probably why._ He rationalized to himself.

"Would you like to go over what you missed?" He asked in his usual gruff tone.

"Yes please." She answered softly.

Lightning was staring at Doc with a stupid grin. "What?" Doc asked defensively.

"She was only coming because she liked you!" Lightning's voice took on a sing-song tone.

Doc rolled his eyes. "I'm well aware of that now. She told me after we got together. Apparently, her friend had came up with the idea…"

"Darlene, you're adorable, smart, and kind. He'd be lucky as hell to have you be his girlfriend!" Darlene's best friend Ashley whispered to her. Darlene shot her a look.

"We are not having this conversation again. I only said I thought he was cute. There's no need to plan the wedding."

"Only you would find that surly, unpleasant man cute." Another one of their friends, Tate, said with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey, give the man credit. He's a hunk if ever I've seen one." Ashley retorted. Darlene lifted her arm to cover her blush.

"Can we change the subject?" She pleaded.

"Not until you agree to talk to him." Ashley negotiated.

Tate shook her head. "How about not until she agrees she can do better?"

Still arguing, the three arrived at the classroom. "I'm going to sit at the front so I can hear better." Tate snapped and stalked off.

Darlene sighed. Ashley nudged her arm. "C'mon, let's sit in the back so we can chat. It's only a review class anyways."

"Do you think Tate is right? He does seem rather… untamed." Darlene asked, biting her lip as she looked at Ashley.

Ashley however, seemed perfectly certain. "Tate's _always_ going to be a party pooper. Personally, I think he's just using it as a shield. Besides, you always say you like a challenge." She finished with a giggle.

Darlene giggled too. "Yes, in the classroom, not in dating! What if there isn't some good heart under there and he's just bitter through and through?"

"Well there's only one way to find out." Ashley told her matter-of-factly.

Darlene sighed. "You make it sound so easy."

They fell into silence for a few moments. The professor was giving the class a reminder about seeing Jay for tutoring if they needed it, and how to schedule appointments. Jay stood in the corner with his arms crossed, nodding shortly when he was mentioned.

Ashley suddenly gasped, loud enough that the students in the row in front of them turned around to look. Darlene looked at her like she'd grown an extra set of arms. "What is wrong with you now?"

"Darlene, I've got it!" Ashley whispered and grabbed Darlene's arm. "Start going to tutor sessions! It'll be like a one on one study date!"

Darlene's eyes widened. "Study date? It's his job, I doubt it will be _anything_ like that. Besides, I heard he's mean during tutor sessions because he doesn't like doing them."

"Nonsense, he's only mean when people ask stupid questions. I went to a couple at the beginning of the year, he only snapped at me a few times! It would be so perfect! You schedule for a half hour _alone_ in _his office!"_

Darlene bit her lip and thought about it. "But what would we even work on? I'm not really struggling with anything. And I'm not about to pretend I'm dumber than I actually am"

"Of course not. Besides, intelligence is sexy." Ashley paused to wiggle her eyebrows suggestively, and Darlene huffed in annoyance. "Ask him to go over your tests, or just to go over something in the reading. You're brilliant Dar, but I know you could think of a few genuine questions if you really tried. Think of it as a new challenge- to find as many questions as you can."

Darlene bit her lip harder, casting a quick glance at the brooding figure in the corner. "Alright, I'll try. But if this goes south I'm kicking you out of the apartment."

Doc paused to take a sip of his tea. "Any questions so far?" He asked in a bemused tone.

Lightning shook his head no. The lunch crowd had dispersed, leaving them as the only two customers in the V8.

"Well, nothing happened for a few weeks, she kept coming to tutor sessions-"

"You kept being oblivious." Lightning interrupted.

Doc leveled him with a look. "Who's telling this story, you or me?"

Lightning grinned. "You know I'm right."

Doc rolled his eyes. "Anyways rookie, skipping ahead a few weeks…"

"Jay, I think that girl really likes you." Jay looked up at the sound of his housemate and friend Leroy's voice.

"What girl are you talking about?"

Leroy snorted. "I shouldn't have to tell you which one." Jay stared at him cluelessly. "The pretty little black-haired smart one who's always coming to tutor sessions and batting those long eyelashes at you."

Jay furrowed his brow. "Who… You mean Darlene?"

"That's the one."

Jay scoffed. "She's just coming in for extra help, you pervert."

"Hey, I'm not a pervert for picking up on what the girls putting out! She's practically holding up a neon sign!"

Jay paused his grading to look at his friend with raised brows. "And what, pray tell, does this sign say?"

Leroy hopped off the couch to make sweeping, dramatic hand gestures. " _Notice me, Jay Hudson! Date me, Jay Hudson! I want you to-"_

"Okay, that's enough." Jay cut his friend off before things got inappropriate. "You're really barking up the wrong tree. She's painfully shy around me and always books it out of there early."

"Because you make her nervous! She's worried you won't like her back, so she's trying to protect herself." Leroy emphasized his point by shaking a finger in Jay's face. "Maybe if you weren't always so sullen and brooding, she'd find the courage to ask you out."

Jay glared at him for his comment. "I do _not_ brood."

Leroy rolled his eyes. "Beside the point. The girl, for some unknown reason, likes you. You should ask her out."

Jay nearly snapped his pencil in half. "I will do no such thing. Besides," He continued, cutting off Leroy's protest. "I'm positive she doesn't like me. And asking her out if she doesn't like me would be rude, not to mention out of line as her TA."

Leroy looked thoughtful for a moment. "If I can prove to you that she has a crush on you, will you ask her out?"

"If you can prove the impossible, then yes, I'll ask her out."

Leroy grinned. "Tell me, do you ever touch her shoulder or hand during these sessions? Maybe even accidentally?"

Jay shot him a glare. "There's no need to. Stop being a pervert."

Leroy ignored the jab and continued. "Tomorrow during her session, put your hand on her shoulder. I'll bet you anything she'll freeze, get all nervous, and start blushing. That's how you'll know she likes you but is too scared to make a move."

"And how will we know if she's freezing because she likes me or freezing because a creepy guy just put their hand on her shoulder unnecessarily?" Jay asked, skepticism clear in his expression.

"Don't do it in a creepy way. Just a hand on her shoulder for two seconds, while you're checking her work or something. The same thing you'd do to another guy if you were trying to look over their shoulder. I've seen you do it in your class before! Besides, she'll tell you if she doesn't want you to. I've seen her put handsy dudes in their places before so fiercely they never tried anything ever again."

Jay sighed. "If it'll make you shut up, the fine, I'll try it. But I swear to God if I get kicked in the groin I'm going to make you regret ever leaving the womb."

Leroy just laughed and grinned cockily. He knew he wasn't wrong.

The next day at her tutor session, he gave her a sheet of practice questions to go through while he sat at his desk and watched her. He couldn't believe he'd let Leroy talk him into his plan. He was sure she'd be angry and shove him away the moment he got near her.

"Um, excuse me, but I need some help with this one please."

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he stood and went over to her. Calming his own nerves, he casually placed a hand on her shoulder and bent down to see her paper better. "Which one?"

She didn't answer right away. He felt her go stiff under his hand, and he braced himself to be yelled at. He took a secretive glance at her face and his eyes widened in surprise. Her face was so flushed she practically looked like a tomato with black hair.

She tried to point at the question but she fumbled her pen and dropped it. She flushed even darker. "N-n-numb-ber f-four pl-please." She finally stuttered, a hand rising to cover her blush.

Jay tried to snap himself out of his own awe. Leroy had actually been right! He took her paper and straightened up, releasing her shoulder.

He tried to read the question, but there was suddenly a stutter in his own breath. He frowned. Why was _he_ getting nervous now too?

He forcefully cleared his mind and sank into the chair next to her at the small table. "Are you having trouble answering the question or drawing the diagram?" He forced his voice to take on it's usual gruff tone.

"The diagram." She whispered timidly.

He nodded once. "May I see your pen?" She went to hand him the writing utensil, only to fumble it again and drop it on the floor under his chair. She gasped and moved to pick it up, but he held out a hand to stop her. "Don't worry, I've got it." He bent down to retrieve the pen himself, taking the moment to calm himself before returning to the paper and question 4.

He took a few minutes drawing the diagram and talking her through what he was drawing. Her blush died down somewhat and she paid attention to his explanation. After he finished, he handed her back her pen and retreated to his desk. He couldn't seem to get his breathing to even out. Why on earth would she have a crush on _him?_ And why was he reacting the way he was to realizing it?

Doc frowned, pausing the story. "What's with that look on your face?" Lightning's face was a cross between a smirk and a daydreamy look.

"I'm trying to imagine _you_ ever actually getting nervous."

Doc scowled. "Haha. Laugh it up. So I wasn't great with women when I was younger. If I had a dollar for every stupid thing you've done around Sally-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Lightning cut him off, not really eager to hear Doc's estimation of that number. "Keep going, I'm listening."

He drove home in what seemed like a trance. Leroy was waiting for him at the door.

"Weeeellllll?" His friend drawled.

Jay shook his head. "This is the first and last time I'll ever say this, but you were right."

Leroy leapt off the couch with a whoop, pumping his arms in the air. He sprinted over to Jay, wrapped him in a big bear hug, and spun him in the air.

"IF YOU DO NOT PUT ME DOWN I AM GOING TO DISLOCATE YOUR JAW." Jay shouted over Leroy's cheering.

Leroy set him down, putting both hands on his friends shoulders. "I should not be more excited than you are! This is awesome man!"

Jay sighed and sank onto the couch. He tried to set his books on the seat beside him, but they slid off onto the floor. Jay glared at the offending books before settling back against the couch with a sigh.

Leroy frowned. That wasn't like his roommate at all. "Why aren't you excited?" A thought occurred to him. "You aren't gay are you? I'll totally support you if you are and that would explain why you've never had a girlfriend-"

"I am not gay." Jay snapped. "You've never had a girlfriend either. Are you gay?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Glad that's settled." Jay grunted.

Leroy frowned. "Seriously, why aren't you reacting even a little?"

Jay frowned, then suddenly exploded. "Why the hell would she like me? What do I have that would make any woman like me?" He ran his hands through his hair in agitation. "I'm a rude, callous asshole. What on earth does she like about me?"

"All this time I thought you didn't know." Leroy deadpanned. He laughed, until he was hit hard in the gut with a textbook. "Ow! That hurt you dick!"

"I'm being serious! I don't understand! Why me!?" Jay shouted at his unhelpful roommate.

"Well, first off, let's calm down a bit." Leroy eyed the textbook in his friends hand. Jay groaned reluctantly and tossed the book back onto the floor. "Now then, let's talk about this rationally. One, you're a good looking guy. Two, a lot of gals dig the mysterious thing. Three, have you never noticed how many chicks will stare at you when you're walking by? She's not the first, and she won't be the last."

Jay gave him a confused look. "There's women looking at me?"

Leroy stared dumbly at his friend, then shook his head. "I can't _believe_ you're that oblivious!"

"Well, why would I be looking for that? I don't expect it!" Jay defended.

Leroy rolled his eyes. "Now's not the time for an argument about your questionable people skills. We- and by 'we' I mean 'you'- need to figure out how you feel about this Darlene."

Jay stared at him blankly. "Um- How do you expect me to do that?"

Leroy huffed. "Right, I forgot you have the _highly advanced_ emotions of a four-year-old. Come on, we're going to have a man-to-man, see if we can't get your spaghetti brain sorted out."

 _Later that night in Darlene's apartment_

"ASHLEY! ASHLEY WHERE ARE YOU!?" Darlene yelled as she banged open the door to their shared apartment. Ashley came out of her bedroom in her pajamas, holding a box of cookies.

"Wha?" She asked through a mouthful.

Darlene snatched the cookies from her friends hand and tossed them onto the couch. She gripped the blonde's shoulders and shook her. "He touched my shoulder! He touched me!"

Ashley gasped and squealed. "What did you do?"

"Almost passed out from the blood rush to my face." Darlene admitted truthfully. "Then dropped my pen twice, stuttered like a fool… He probably thinks I'm an idiot." Darlene shook her head.

"How did he react?" Did he seem any different?" Ashley asked, shaking Darlene out of her tirade.

"He… You know what, now that you mention it he did seem different! He sat next to me instead of across from me, he drew a diagram _for_ me instead of just _telling_ me what to do, and he picked up my pen off the floor! He's _never_ acted anything like that before!" Darlene realized.

Ashley jumped up and down. "That's good! He wasn't so standoffish!

"But what if that was just him being caught off-guard by my idiocracy?" Darlene worried.

"I highly doubt it. He's used to dealing with the worst students in the class, he's undoubtedly seen higher degrees of idiocracy. So, do you think you're going to make a move?"

"After that spectacle? Only if it's to Alaska." Darlene lamented.

Ashley waved her off. "Come on now, you should do something! Let him know you're interested. Guys can be so dense."

Darlene pursed her lips. "You're one to talk! Have you even spoken to that guy in your chemistry class that you like?"

"Do as I say, not as I do." Ashley dodged.

Darlene sighed. "I don't think I can. What if he says no? Then it's going to be awkward for the rest of the year."

"Well, I don't think he's going to say no. But, if you really feel that way, I'll drop it for now." Ashley paused, glancing at her watch. "Okay, 'now' is over. Dar, we are going to sit down and talk this out until we figure out how you're going to make a move."

Darlene sighed, letting Ashley lead her to the couch. It would be easier to just resign herself to her fate.

 _The next week at the tutoring session…_

Darlene had to stop outside the door and take several deep breaths. She smoothed her skirt several times, despite it containing no wrinkles. She tried to relive Ashley's prep talk, but it wasn't nearly as convincing coming from her own mind.

Meanwhile inside, Jay was savoring his last few minutes of solitude. He was mumbling to himself, desperately trying to calm himself down enough to go through with his and Leroy's plan.

"Jesse Hudson, you have three Piston Cups. You helped to build the Piston Cup network. You've wrecked a vehicle, broken damn near every bone in your body, been in a coma, and survived it all. You are not going to be intimidated by this!" He hissed to himself, but then he sighed. He wasn't very convincing.

The usual timid knock signalled Darlene's presence. Jay took one last deep breath and then called out. "Come in."

Darlene entered, waving shyly at him. They both quickly sat down at the table. Jay didn't think too much about it at the time, but he sat next to her again, instead of his usual spot across from her. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "How was this week's lecture? Do you have any questions you didn't get answered in class?"

"No, I understood it well, I think." She responded, looking at her hands.

"Good, That's, um, good."

They lapsed into awkward silence for a few moments. "Um, Darlene, I wanted to ask you something…" Jay trailed off when she looked at him expectantly. "If… If you aren't doing anything tomorrow afternoon, would you like to get some coffee… with me?" His voice sounded oddly strangled when he finished. Her expression turned surprised and she began to blush. Fearing rejection, he started to blush too, looking away. "I'm sorry, that was out of line. Forget I said anything."

"Oh, no, that's not it!" Darlene snapped out of her trance, putting a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her, and she smiled softly. "I was just surprised, because I was planning on asking you the exact same question." It was his turn to look startled. Emboldened, she smiled wider. "I would love to get coffee with you."

"W-with me? Really?" Jay wasn't sure he'd heard her right.

Darlene laughed. "Yes, with you. Does three o'clock work?"

"Three o'clock is perfect."

"See you then." She patted his arm, rose from her seat, and left the room. He stared at the closed door in a daze, before breaking into a wide grin.

"Oh my god, that sounds like the plot to one of Sally's romcoms!" Lightning laughed. "Is that the real story? You were such a dork!"

Doc scowled. "Yes, that's the real story. And you're one to talk, hotshot. I should go tell Sally all the stupid things you've done or said around me. You're lucky I haven't yet."

Lightning gulped. That was an embarrassingly long list. "How about she remains blissfully ignorant of that?"

"I won't tell if you won't."

"Deal." Lightning stuck out his hand and Doc shook it.

Lightning grinned suddenly. "What's that smile for?" Doc asked cautiously.

"This doesn't mean I can't tease you about it when no one's around!"

 **It was soooo fun to write a young Doc! In case you can't tell, he's my favorite character. If he sees a little OOC, he is a lot younger here, so that may be why. And don't worry, Darlene is going to make some appearances in these stories still alive. And also, the other OC mentioned briefly, Ellen, Doc's niece, will be coming in a story soon. That's all I've got for now!**

 **Read! Review! Get to California first and have Dinoco all to yourself!**


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